Health · Deer disease testingMinnesota deer season: November 7 opener brings mandatory CWD testingWritten November 6, 2026 at 12:13 AM UTCWatchTranscript0:07Minnesota hunters must register every harvested deer within forty-eight hours.0:12Opening weekend also brings mandatory disease testing for qualifying deer in0:17designated permit areas.0:19Hunters there need to plan for registration before they bring their deer for0:23sampling.0:24Who needs a disease test, and how does that fit with registering the harvest?0:29Minnesota's firearms deer season open Saturday, November7 th.0:34The opening weekend testing requirement covers designated deer permit areas0:39described broadly as Southwest Minnesota.0:42The permit area number determines whether a hunter falls within that requirement.0:47Hunters must have deer at least one year old, tested for chronic wasting disease,0:53often called CWD, in those covered areas on November7 th and8 th.0:58That age threshold applies to the mandatory testing requirement.1:02Every harvested deer still has to be registered.1:06The DNR expects more than four hundred thousand hunters this season.1:09That puts disease sampling alongside a large statewide hunting event, with opening1:15weekend providing an opportunity to check harvested deer for chronic wasting1:19disease.1:19For someone bringing a deer in for sampling, the order of those tasks affects the1:24plan.1:25Registering the harvest records, the deer with the state.1:28Disease sampling submits it for testing.1:31Hunters who need both must complete registration first.1:34Every harvested deer must be registered within forty-eight hours.1:39Hunters in the covered areas must have deer at least one year old, tested November1:44seventh and eighth.1:45Register first, then present the deer for sampling, even if your registration1:50deadline is later.1:52The forty-eight-hour clock governs registration.1:55Hunters presenting a deer for sampling sooner need to register it sooner.2:00The testing dates fall on the first two days of the firearm season.2:03So that opening weekend obligation needs to be part of handling the harvest.2:08The DNR identifies the covered hunting areas by permit number.2:12Those designations give an individual hunter a more precise boundary than the phrase2:18Southwest Minnesota.2:19The agency set out the mandatory sampling weekend on October twelfth ahead of the2:24opener.2:25Season dates also depend on the hunt and permit area.2:29The state's season A listing runs through November22nd, while the mandatory sampling2:35window described here covers the opening weekend.2:38Hunters need the dates and requirements that apply to their particular hunt.2:42The firearms opener is November7 th.2:45Mandatory sampling in the designated areas runs November7 th and8 th.2:50The listed season A dates are November7 th through22nd, with individual hunt and2:56permit area rules governing the details.2:58Hunters elsewhere in Minnesota can also get deer tested.3:02The DNR offers testing options statewide throughout the deer seasons, including in3:08places where CWD hasn't been detected.3:11A testing options availability doesn't tell a hunter whether disease has been found3:15locally.3:16The DNR's mailin program provides free kits and free testing.3:20Hunters can get the results online.3:23Kit supplies are limited, so that option depends on availability, even though3:27testing extends beyond the areas with mandatory opening weekend sampling.3:32Scientists haven't shown that chronic wasting disease infects people.3:36They're still studying whether contact with infected animals or eating their meat3:41could affect human health.3:43That leaves a potential health risk under study, while hunters meet the state's3:47disease surveillance requirements.3:48Testing gives hunters a way to learn whether their deer has CWD, and it helps check3:54for disease across Minnesota.3:56The opening weekend samples are still ahead.3:59How many deer will be sampled, and what those tests find will come after the4:04November seventh opener.Read the articleStory timelineHeyDex
